Test Audience Influence on Character Development 101
by JustAnotherNarrator
Summary: "Why do you even do that, huh?" She had questioned, as she thought back on all those men he'd pretended to be; Brent Underjaw, and Han Solo, and Batman. "Why do you act like you're attracted to me when you're playing some role!"
1. Chapter 1

**Test Audience Influence on Character Development 101**

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 **Author's Note:** I've been working on this story for some time now and even though, I was planning to release it all in one go, watching this section of it just sit around doing nothing as I work on next part was driving me mad. So, now I'll be releasing it in chapters. Hopefully, you'll like it!

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 **Chapter 1**

Those words had been spinning around in Annie's brain for days now. She just couldn't seem to get them out of there. Anytime things got quiet, they were there, just repeating over and over. She wasn't sure if it was the words themselves or the way they were said but despite all her efforts, she just could not shake them off.

Maybe she had brought this onto herself, people always said to let sleeping dogs lie…

But that day had been trying in so many ways, from burying Pierce to the deeply invasive polygraph session and the bombshell of Troy's decision. By the time they'd left the bar, she was exhausted, overwhelmed with emotions and, okay, maybe she'd been a little drunk too. All she had wanted was to go home and log on to Facebook and chat with her online boyfriend, only to be reminded that she couldn't because he'd never been real. It had just been Abed toying with her emotions for breakfast food!

She'd glared at his profile as he looked out of passenger seat window of Jeff's Lexus. He had been nice enough give them a ride home after Troy had borrowed her car so he could go over to his mom's house. He had some rather important news to tell her, after all. She still couldn't believe that her secret love story had been all a lie, but not only that, it had also been a cruel prank from one of her dearest friends. How dared he do this to her? Did he even realize how much he had hurt her? He could have just asked if he wanted stupid pancakes! Why put her heart through the ringer at the same time?

By the time they'd made it into the apartment, she was fuming and on the verge of tears. It had been as if all the emotions of the day had come back up like a great wave trying to take her under. So many things that were important to her had changed in one day, and she didn't do well with change, at all. She wished she could have just been sad about Pierce's death, not also mourning a relationship and, anticipating the pain that would come when Troy would leave. But no, everything had to come crashing down around her all at once. She'd been shaking as she closed the door behind them. Much to her surprise, Abed had taken notice of her distress and paused, already halfway in the blanket fort.

"Are you upset about Pierce being dead or about Troy going away?"

"Both, Abed," she'd sighed as her bottom lip started to quiver, emotions finally spilling over and causing to raise her voice. "I'm upset about both! And normally, I'd just log on and tell Brent about it, but I can't now, can I?"

"If you want I can—"

"You can what? Pretend to be him some more? Is that what you were gonna say?"

He had nodded, his head tilted to the side a little like he always did when he tried to figure out another person's emotion. "If it would help you feel better."

In that moment, the anger inside of her had turned to fury. She couldn't believe her ears at his audacity. He would continue to play her pretend boyfriend if it would help her feel better! She knew even he had to realize just how ridiculous and twisted that was.

"No, Abed! It wouldn't make me feel better," she had shouted back, fists shaking at her side. She had watched him raise his hand slowly, one long finger sticking up as if he was about to ask a question she had already anticipated. "It wouldn't make me feel better because it wouldn't be real! Because my boyfriend isn't real! I thought I'd found someone who liked me and you were just playing pretend like always!"

He'd tried to interject something, looking at her with wide eyes as she just poured her heart out.

"No! Let me finish! Why do you even do that, huh?" She had questioned, as she thought back on all those men he'd pretended to be; Brent Underjaw, and Han Solo, and Batman. She'd chosen to ignore Don Draper since she'd volunteered to be in that situation, as well that time he had been Jeff in the Dreamatorium, urging her to relive their second kiss, since that had just been too weird and she'd rather forget about that one. "Why do you act like you're attracted to me when you're playing some role?!"

"Because those are the only times you're attracted to me."

The words had fallen from his lips in his usual monotone voice, there'd been no particular emotion to them, no agenda attached or anything like that. No anger or sadness, no accusation or no attempts at self-deprecation. He had not been trying to make her feel guilty or have her argue that it wasn't true. They'd simply been a statement of fact.

And one for which she had no reply for that quite honestly. All she'd been able to do was stare up at him, her anger forgotten and her pain dulled out for a moment. His words had stunned her. She'd never even considered the possibility that Abed only appeared to be interested in her when they played pretend together because those were the only times _she_ appeared to be interested in him.

She'd be standing there silently for a whole minute when Abed had mentioned he'd be in the blanket fort if she needed him, but that he'd rather be alone for a while, if that was okay. She'd simply nodded, still lost deep in her thoughts.

Days after the fact, those words were still whirling around in her brain, and she kept trying to push them away, but they came back every time. It didn't help that it was the weekend and she was alone in the apartment with nothing to do but think. Troy and Abed were out somewhere, making the most of the last couple of days before Troy's scheduled departure, and she hadn't been invited along. She didn't mind too much, knowing quite well how hard the separation was going to be for both of them. They needed to get in all the Troy-and-Abed time they could before then, but this meant more time with her thoughts. She had tried to keep busy, doing two extra credit projects and reorganizing her entire closet yesterday. Now, it was two in the afternoon, and she had already done all the therapeutic cleaning she possibly could do. She sat down at the table, her eyes moving over the entire room and landing on one of the recliners, picturing the top of Abed's head peaking up over the back of it and once again, the same question came back to mind.

 _Was it true..?_

Had she only been attracted to Abed when he was playing a role? She had to admit that she'd never spent much time thinking about him that way. She knew he wasn't unattractive in any way; Abed had very nice eyes and probably the most perfect skin she'd ever seen in real life. Even Jeff got a pimple every once in a while! (Although no one in the group was allowed to mention that fact anymore… not after the last time.) He was tall too and had great cheekbones, and other girls seemed attracted to him. But to be frank, she hadn't really paid that much attention to his appearance, because he was, you know, Abed. Her friend. Did that make her a bad person? Or a shallow one? No, it couldn't make her shallow to _not_ have really noticed someone's appearance? Right?

So, what was it that made her attracted to Han Solo and Don Draper when Abed played them? What was it that made her heart beat so fast when Han kissed her under a rain of orange paint and made her feel so deeply disappointed when Abed acted like nothing happened later on? What was it about Abed in that silly Batman suit that made her feel kind of weak in the knees? It wasn't like she imaged Christian Bale under the fabric cowl after all.

With a frustrated sigh, Annie stood up and headed for her bedroom, closing the door behind her, even though she was alone in the apartment. She grabbed the emergency notebook she kept in the drawer of her bedside table and settled down on her bed. Writing things down always helped her feel more in control and right now, she felt anything but. She reached over to grab a pen without looking, and once it was in her hand, she noticed it was one of her purple ones.

Her mind flashed back to that day, in the study room, when she had shown the group a side of herself she would have preferred to keep hidden. (She had switched from purple pens to boring blue ones for a while after that – even though the different in colors in her notebooks drove her crazy – just to make sure she wouldn't behave that way again.) Thinking about it now, Abed had been the one person not to make a big deal of her freak out. He'd only been concerned about the whole thing turning into a bottle episode, in large part due to his lack of understanding of facial expressions. And sure, when Britta had realized that he'd been tracking their menstrual cycle, it had felt weird and invasive to say the least, but his heart had been in the right place. Truth be told, she kind of missed the chocolates he used to give them.

The one positive thing about that day, and she would never admit it, not even under torture, had been their chance to peek at the boys in their underwear. At first, she'd tried to look away after the guys had moved out from behind their table to go and cut open Pierce's casts, but that hadn't lasted long. Admittedly, her eyes had been mainly on Jeff and Troy, but she'd also been taken aback by Abed's physique as he'd been standing around in his tighty-whities. He was skinny, that was a given, but he also had abs and surprisingly well-defined muscles. Thinking about it now, Annie felt a blush rising to her cheeks. Alright, so maybe she was a little bit attracted to Abed, physically at least. It didn't change the fact that on a day-to-day basis, she didn't see him that way, except if he was being somebody else. So, why was that?

Shaking her head hoping that it will clear her mind of the images currently filling her brain, Annie turned back to her notebook, purple pen in hand. With a steady hand, she traced a line down the middle of the page, separating it in two columns and titling one of them, _Things I Find Attractive in Men_ , and the other, _A_., just in case one of the boys decided to come snooping into her room. It wasn't very likely, since she'd made it clear to them that it was off limits, and with Troy leaving soon, they had more important things to think about, but one could never be too sure. Especially not when comparing a good friend to a list of qualities she liked. Pausing at that thought, she couldn't help but wonder, for the second time today, if this made her shallow person..?

"No, this is fine," she assured herself and the stuffed animals on her bed who appeared to be judging her. "It's purely academic curiosity," she added, nodding her head stubbornly.

As she lied to herself, Annie put the tip of her pen to the page. She was about to start writing the first item on her list – _A nice smile_ – something Abed definitely had but very rarely showed the world, except when a character demanded it - when the front door opened before slamming shut. She gasped and quickly closed her notebook. Looking down at it now, it felt as if she'd just been caught red-handed doing something horribly wrong. Without thinking, she took the now offending notebook and buried it at the bottom of her sock drawer, as far back as possible. Straightening her skirt, and nervously smoothing down her hair, she made her way back to the living room to see why the boys had slammed the door in such fashion… and why they weren't talking?

The reason why they weren't talking became apparent the second Annie walked out of her room, it was because there was no "they", only Abed taking off his Inspector Spacetime bowler hat and placing it carefully on the Official Inspector Spacetime Coat Rack™ they'd gotten him for Christmas last year.

"Where's Troy?" She asked, peeking around the corridor, in case their roommate simply rushed to the bathroom as they came in.

"His mom called while we were out, she told him some of his cousins and his nana wanted to see him before his trip and that he had to go over to her house for dinner." To most people, Abed's monotone could led them to believe that he was simply recounting the events, not really caring one way or the other, but Annie had gotten pretty good at reading her friend over the years. His eyes were downcast and there was a little bit of twitch in his mouth as he paused; it was clear to her that there was something more to the story, something that was upsetting him. Before she could ask what it was, he filled in the blank for her. "She said it was family only too, and that I wasn't allowed to go."

"Oh, Abed, I'm sorry." She reached out for him, placing a sympathetic hand on his bathroom-clad wrist and discounting the little spark that seemed to run under her fingers as static electricity. She hated seeing him like this, and from the look in his eyes she could already imagine where his mind was headed, probably telling himself that if he'd been "normal", he would have been invited along. She knew it was unfair, but she couldn't help mentally chastising Troy's mom for cutting the boys' remaining time together even shorter. She squeezed his wrists a little, getting his attention back on her. With a gentle smile, she proposed, "why don't you get changed while I make some special drink and then we can binge a season of any show you'd like?"

The words seemed to get him out of his dark thoughts. Annie spotted a spark of excitement in those dark eyes of his as he mentioned that he'd been meaning to rewatch The Cape, and she couldn't help but feel quite pleased with herself. She loved making her friends happy, and making Abed happy was especially rewarding. For some reason, seeing his face light up, even just a little, always made her feel like she could do anything, something she'd found out after apologizing to him for the whole Duncan Principle fiasco. The way his face had changed when he'd seen the DVDs in the little giftbag she had carefully decorated with ribbons had been so unexpected that it had burned itself into her memory.

With that thought, the brunette became painfully that she had yet to apologize for yelling at him a few nights ago. She'd been meaning to, of course, but as much as she wished to deny it, she'd been avoiding one-on-one time with Abed since then. But tonight, he needed her and her confused feelings over his comment or about him catfishing her would just have to take a backseat for the evening.


	2. Chapter 2

**Test Audience Influence on Character Development 101**

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 **Author's Note:** I had this chapter partially written from awhile now, and it decided to take a turn on me near the end there. I have no idea how long it will take me to write the next chapter, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get it done in a timely manner, without real life throwing too much of a (quantum)spanner in the works. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'm doing justice to those characters we all love, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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 **Chapter 2**

Just after finishing the fourth episode of The Cape, their stomachs had begun to rumble and they'd agreed on a quick pause to make some dinner and stretch out before the second half of their binge. As she prepared two bowls of buttered noodles – normally she would have tried to get Abed to eat something better for him or at least get him to have some vegetables as well, but tonight was about cheering him up so she'd kept quiet – Annie found herself smiling, she loved being included in her roommates' lives and watching something with Abed was always such an experience. He just knew so much about television and films and would sometimes point out minor details she might have missed otherwise or he might pause a movie to comment on the way the director framed the scene, other times he'd mention how behind the scene influence had changed the course of a series; she found that fascinating to listen to. On other occasions, he'd just sit there with what could only be described as a serene expression on his usually emotionless face, something that Annie was always been a little envious of. Serenity was never her forte.

"Is it ready?"

Annie nearly jumped out of her skin at his voice right behind her. Deep in thoughts as she'd been, she hadn't heard him move from the living room to the small kitchen. He looked expectantly over her shoulder at the food.

"Just about," she assured him as she grabbed their utensils from the drawer next to the stove. As she closed it and handed him his chopsticks, the microwave dinged and Abed was already reaching for the steaming bowls. "Careful, don't burn yourself!"

Heeding her warning, Abed pulled down the sleeves of his hoodie over his hands, using them as protection against the heat. She considered reminding him that they did, in fact, own oven mitts for exactly that purpose but simply rolled her eyes affectionately instead.

As soon as they settled back down in the recliners, Abed's hand was reaching over for the remote and Annie knew this might be the best time for her apology. Any later than this and Troy might walk in in the middle of it, and explaining why she was apologizing to Abed could be a tad awkward.

"Huh, Abed?" She began nervously. He turned to look at her with his head tilted to the side as he so often did, observing her for a moment before his eyes glanced toward the television set. He was obviously anxious to continue watching the show, but as he looked back at her, he seemed to see something in her face that made him put down the remote and nod his head for her to continue. She couldn't help but feel rather pleased that even years after the fact, her empathy training was still working. "I just wanted to apologize, for yelling at you the other night. I was upset about Pierce's death and Troy's decision… and yeah, also about the tracking devices and the whole Brent thing, but it still wasn't fair to take it out on you like that."

As soon as she apologized, it was if weight she hadn't realized she'd been carrying had been lifted from her shoulders. She felt lighter, calmer. Now, they could get back to normal and she wouldn't have to avoid him like she had over the past few days, lost in that strange haze of confusing feelings. Thinking back on it, she found the whole situation seemed rather ridiculous. It was so typical of her to spend such a long time overthinking her own emotions that she hadn't even once stopped to think about the whole thing objectively. And objectively, Abed being attracted to her made about as much sense as her being attracted to the Dean! (That one-time incident during the gas leak year notwithstanding.)

With that single thought, she felt as if a cartoon lightbulb had just gone on above her head. Her very own eureka moment. That was it, right there! She'd never been attracted to the Dean really, it had just been that weird persona he'd taken on that she'd been drawn to. A little bit like how she was attracted to Abed when he played certain roles. It was all about context, wasn't it? He had probably only chosen her to "flirt" at certain times because the situation demanded it. He'd even said himself that he'd only been Han Solo during the paintball game because of the context. (Something that had stung much more than Annie would ever care to admit.) Honestly, she'd wondered for the longest time why he'd chosen _her_ of all people to be his Leia, but suddenly it seemed clear as day; he couldn't have chosen someone outside the study group because, truthfully, the group would have likely taken it as a form of betrayal if he'd begone flirting with someone they didn't really know during such an important paintball game. Shirley being in a relationship likely took her out of the running right away, which only left Britta and her. Britta wouldn't have played along with the scenario though, she would have thought it to be chauvinist or demeaning or something like that – _…and even if she had played along, she would have probably Britta'd it anyway…_ – so that left only her as a potential Leia. Plus, Leia was a brunette and so was she. It all made sense, really.

It took a moment for Annie to realize how deep in her inner monologue she'd been for a moment, just sitting there smiling a much easier smile as things fell logically into place for the first time in days. She looked back at Abed who was still observing her in that typical Abed way, seemingly waiting to see if she had anything else to add. When it became obvious she was done talking, his long hand reached for the remote, and she'd meant to let him, but just before her roommate could hit _play_ , she blurted out without thinking: "Oh and, by the way, I know that Han Solo and Brent and all that don't mean anything. Just means to an end, right? Someone needed to be Han for the Star Wars motif that the paintball game was taking and Han needed a Leia, and well, as you said, you created Brent with pancakes in mind. So, no need to worry about me going all _Annie-of-it-all_ again," she chuckled at her own little self-deprecating joke, her new-found perspective making her acutely aware of how irrationally she'd been acting since that night.

 _Because those are the only times you're attracted to me._

Unfortunately for Annie, as soon as she thought she was about to move past this preposterous idea, his words were back in her brain and she found her chuckle dying on her lips. She tilted her head to the side a little, mimicking the way Abed was still looking at her. There was a hint of emotion in his eyes that she couldn't quite place, nothing out of the ordinary since he was a hard person to read, although she thought she'd been getting better it, but whatever it was gave her pause, her eyebrows inching closer together. "I-I know I just said I wasn't going to overanalyze what you said that night, but… well, it made it sound like you were… you know… attracted to me…?" She tried to laugh it off, but it came out fake to her own ears, and she could just tell that her facial expression was not matching up with laughter, luckily for her though, her friend rarely caught on to those sorts of thing. "It's silly, right?"

Abed's finger had been hovering over _play_ this whole time, and Annie half-expected him to respond with a quick _Yep!_ and some fingerguns, before pressing down on the button and carrying on with their binge of The Cape. Instead, he placed the controller on the arm rest of the recliner and observed her for a moment longer, his dark eyes more unreadable than ever. Without quite knowing why, she felt nervous, her breath quickening and palms growing clammy. Why did she keep talking? She'd apologized and told him she was going to leave well enough alone, so why couldn't she have done just that…?

"Annie, I view the world through a lens of television and movies, and you have a face that could launch a thousand Disney franchises," he simply responded in his trademark monotone. "Of course, I find you attractive."

Annie's heart appeared to jump from its usual place in her chest to lodge itself in her throat. She hadn't expected such an admission, especially not put some bluntly. Then again, even after her attempt at empathy training, Abed was never really known for his tact. She was shocked that she didn't even correct him regarding the actual saying being 'a face that could launch a thousand ships'. Her head spinning while her brain was going into overdrive juggling the potential ramifications of what this could mean for their friendship as well as going over every single interaction they'd ever had to see if she'd been very obtuse about this whole thing.

It was only once she realized that she was starting to hyperventilate as her mind spiraled out of control that Annie noticed that Abed was still talking, with a shaky breath in and then out, she forced herself back into the conversation. "…and as such, it's only normal that you're attracted to leading men like Jeff. Which explains why you're only attracted to me when I'm playing those sorts of characters. When I'm being myself; I'm most often the group's observer, or even the director at times, or sometimes comic relief due to my inability to figure out social cues, and as such not a potential romantic interest in anyway. There's very few precedents when the female lead and the comic relief ending up together if the male lead is still around. Even when it does happen, usually test audiences hate that development and studios will ask for the ending to be changed, regardless if it makes sense for the story or not. Take Pretty in Pink for example, John Hughes originally wrote the film with the idea of Duckie and Andie ending up together and that was how the film originally ended, but the test audiences wanted Andie to reunite with her dream man, even though Blaine was shown to be less than ideal for her. Instead of seeing that as character development and growth on Andie's part, they demanded the ending be reshot with Andie ending up with Blaine instead."

 _That's not fair. I always liked that ending. It's the perfect love-conquers-all ending! …and Blaine is dreamier than Duckie Dale…_

That was the only clear thought her brain seemed to manage in the midst of all the chaos inside her head. Abed was just speaking so fast, explaining all of this in the same way he would describe to her something he'd learn in film class, rather than in the way someone would explain themselves after dropping a bombshell on their unsuspecting second-best-friend and roommate. She could barely process what he'd been saying. She could tell she was blinking too much and her mouth was hanging open – with anyone else, she would have worried they might think she looked like some sort of… you know… blow up doll… but luckily, she just knew Abed wouldn't think that – still, it felt like the only way she could bring air to her lungs right now. Abed had all but admitted that he was, at least a little bit, into her and in the same breath explained why there was no potential future for them. She felt like she was getting emotional whiplash! As he paused for breath, she caught on to something else that he said, something she would never have expected to hear.

"You think I'm the female lead in our group?" That was really nice of him to say, even if she didn't think it was possible. After all, she was just Annie. Nothing special. Not like the heroines of the movies and shows he liked so much. She was an ex-pill head and a control freak, not some strong-willed, passionate femme fatale like – "What about Britta?"

"It's true, Britta was originally the female lead. She was the reason Jeff made up the study group in the first place, so how could she not be? Plus, she's quite pretty and blonde which still seems to be preferred by many in their leading lady," he admitted bluntly, his hands moving more and more as he became engrossed in the conversation. She could see his eyes light up as he carried on with his explanation. If it hadn't been her life as well as the rest of the group's that he'd been discussing so carelessly, she would have been quite entertained by the whole thing, marveling at his keen observational skills. Right now though, it only made her pull her cardigan tighter around herself, as if she could somehow shield herself from his scrupulous gaze.

"But, as I've said before, Jeff and Britta are no Ross and Rachel," Abed continued rambling on, predictably unable to take notice of her discomfort. "And by the end of season one it became clear that you have more chemistry with Jeff than she does. You and Jeff have been the will-they, won't-they leading couple since the two of you kissed at the end of the first season, even if Jeff tried to deny it. By the time he's ready to spin off, he'll have figured out his feelings for you and the two of you can star in a family sitcom with some of us making guest appearances every once in a while…"

Despite herself, Annie felt the all-too-familiar army of butterflies filling her stomach as Abed told her how Jeff would someday see the errors of his way and the two of them would eventually "spin off" into a relationship. She'd been trying her best to get over the ex-lawyer for quite some time now, although she had a bit of a relapse the year before - which she still blamed solely on the gas leak – but this was different, since Abed was saying it and everyone knew of his uncanny ability to predict those sorts of things. That was part of the reason why Shirley had strictly forbidden him from ever including her in his movies again. (And why she always asked Annie to walk her to her car on full moon nights.) Plus, if not only her keen observer friend, but even Greendale's unstoppable criminal, the Ass Crack Bandit, could tell that Jeff and her still had chemistry, who knew? Maybe now was good time to try again with him. There was one part of Abed's prediction that she didn't like, the one about the rest of the group only making "guest appearances" in her life if Jeff and her did eventually become a couple. The idea of not seeing her friends as much was enough to take out at least half of the swarm of butterflies in her stomach.

"…that's why Britta's character arc shifted away from leading lady and more into my category as a female comic relief when we became more aware of her airhead tendencies. That's also why she was able to have a relationship, albeit an unsuccessful one, with Troy..."

As soon as his best friend's name escaped his lips, Abed's excitement tapered off to nothing. She watched as he looked away from her and over to the right, his gaze landing on the door of what was once the Dreamatorium and was now, for a little longer at least, Troy's bedroom. He quickly tore his eyes away from it and they landed on her again, or so Annie thought for a second, until she realized he was staring intently at the recliner she was currently occupying. All of a sudden, it felt wrong for her to be sitting there, as if she was trespassing on some sacred shrine. By this point, she was shifting around unconsciously, the butterflies she'd felt moments prior were completely forgotten as she saw the few, tiny tell-tale signs of how upset her friend was. Without so much as a thought, she took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together as they had done hundreds of time before. Reminding him without words that she was there for him and not going anywhere. Much to her surprise though, the gesture felt deeply intimate in that moment, most likely due to how distraught he seemed.

"Abed," she began carefully, her voice sounding small and unsure to her own ears as emotions formed a lump in her throat. She couldn't help but worry about him whenever Troy's imminent departure was brought up. Subconsciously, she also worried about her own inability to help him, as well as how she might be unable to cope with their loss if the whole thing broke Abed permanently. "You're gonna be okay when he leaves, right?"

As soon as the words had escaped her lips, Annie wished she could take them back. She hadn't meant to bring this up, potentially adding to her friend's distress in the process. – _Maybe I ought to give_ myself _a refresher on empathy!_ – And truth be told, she wasn't confident that she could handle Abed's response. What would happen if he couldn't cope? Or if carrying on living in the apartment became too much for him and he chose to leave? She couldn't imagine losing both Troy _and_ Abed!

Her question had brought his wide eyes back on her and she could tell from the way he was holding himself, and that little twitch his hand did, that he was trying his best to use empathy. Right now though, she wished he wouldn't.

"I've run the simulations," he told her, his monotone somewhat slower than usual. "In quite a few of them, I making it out alright after a certain amount of time and a great deal of effort." Hearing those words felt like the weight of the world had lifted from Annie's shoulders, and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She gave his hand a little squeeze and was just about to start smiling again when he added: "In others scenarios, I break to various degrees. Mostly it's an increase in my retreat from reality, like talking to Troy even though he isn't there, or committing to characters far more than I allow myself normally, but in some cases, it's full-on catatonia."

Her ghost of a smile fell as suddenly as it began, and now she felt as if the floor was crumbling under her feet. The potential scenarios Abed was describing were only a part of what concerned her, the other was the fact he'd chosen not to reveal the actual percentages of likelihood of those scenarios coming true. That surely wasn't a good sign.

"You know I'll be here for you no matter what, right?" She assured him as soon as she found her voice again. "We all will. Jeff, Shirley, Britta, and me, we're not going anywhere. I know it's not gonna be the same, but…"

She didn't get a chance to finish what she was saying, her sentence cut short by Abed as he took his hand out hers. The simple action brought tears to her eyes, which she quickly tried to blink away, not wanting to add to his troubles by breaking down. She knew she was going to have to be strong for the both of them in the upcoming weeks, maybe months.

"I have some planning to do for Troy's last day at Greendale," he mentioned as he stood from the recliner, his eyes on the floor rather than on her.

"Wh-what about The Cape?" She asked, motioning to the television to stop herself from simply grabbing his wrist to make him stay.

"I'll finish it later."

Those words, from anyone else, would have been perfectly normal, but coming from Abed, it sounded more a distress call. As she watched him make his way toward the blanket fort, Annie couldn't help but blame herself for the turn the evening had taken. She'd meant for tonight to cheer up her roommate, she reminded herself as she angrily wiped unshed tears from her eyes and, somehow, she'd managed to make things worse. If only she'd been able to stomp out her curiosity. If she'd stopped talking when she meant to, everything would have been alright, but she just had to know, didn't she? And therefore, kept talking, and there they were. She would do anything in her power to fix this but for now, she had no idea how.


End file.
